The Hindu Business Line : Yoga heals

With regular yoga practice, I find their attitude has become more positive... I see a new vigour in them when they work in the ashram farm... Shashi warwankar

Shashi warwankar

Chitra Ramaswamy

An automobile engineer by qualification, an entrepreneur by profession, and a Rotarian by chance, helping the underprivileged of society is a way of life for Raipur-based Shashi Warwankar. He espouses the cause of the marginalised communities in Chhattisgarh, especially the physically challenged. Warwankar set out on this mission over two decades ago, when he was touched by the pathetic condition of physically disabled children, especially girls.

“No matter how old the child grows, parents are in no frame of mind to accept the situation. As for the child, it is considered nothing short of misery and a curse that she is born at all. I felt inextricably drawn towards this lot of society and felt I should pitch in to improve their status,” he says.

Negative attitude

The attitude towards disability among the villagers is very negative. On the one hand, if not physically at least emotionally, they ostracise the challenged individuals. On the other, they deem the disability as God’s will and hence believe nothing can be done for these children.

“They do not realise that with appropriate inputs, training and motivation, these children too can be made productive and independent to some extent. And I decided that one way of making this happen would be through yoga. So my wife, Shilpa, and I underwent training with Baba Ramdev at Haridwar’s Patanjali Yogpeeth.”

“Good health for all is the message of Baba Ramdev. If you can keep healthy without spending money, then why not? Especially for the poorest of poor, this is the best way of maintaining and promoting health. I come across people in day-to-day life, including tribals and villagers, who sell or mortgage whatever little they have to meet medical expenses.

Since ages, it has been proven that yoga can bestow therapeutic benefits with curative and healing powers. This is what prompted me to learn it in a structured manner and impart that knowledge to others,” says Warwankar.

Benefits

Shashi warwankar

Regular practice of yoga raises the heart rate and increases the circulation of oxygen-rich blood which in turn nourishes and strengthens all bodily cells, tissues, organs and structures.

When individuals take deep breaths and do the various asanas and pranayama, associated with yoga, they perspire. Thus the body throws out all the toxins and leaves the individual rejuvenated.

In a similar manner, the postures associated with yoga strengthen the body’s connective tissues, relieves stress, strains and muscular pains and boosts the body’s immune system.

Warwankar has seen remarkable improvements in physically ailing and mentally challenged individuals.

He cites examples of leprosy patients for whom he conducts yoga camps. They test negative for the disease but have been affected by deformities left by it.

He says, “A majority of them are above 50 years. Their body has failed them, society has abandoned them, they have resigned themselves to destiny and feel there is really no tomorrow for them. But with regular yoga practice, I find their attitude has become more positive. There is a new kind of vigour I see in them when they work in the ashram farm which is their home, world, their armour and shield against humanity that can’t see them as human or be humane to them.”

He shares many examples — an individual losing 60 kg in three months, having weighed 164 kg before his initiation into yoga; a group of 49 youngsters between 17-20 years engaged in thefts and addicted to drugs showing positive results, and so on.

Importance of breathing

Warwankar explains, “Our quality of breathing is related directly to our mental or emotional state. Do you notice that when you are upset your breath is fast and shallow, and when we are comfortable, it is usually slow and deep? The fact is that by learning to consciously control the breath, we can control our body as well as the mind. We can achieve this by regularly practising yoga and pranayama. I’ve seen good results in children with behavioural problems and also in the hearing impaired.”

He is glad to see a 32-year-old blood cancer patient respond positively to yoga. “ To some extent, we can save their lives, even of cancer patients, if diagnosed early. This young man is now into pranayama and is now in a better frame of mind and feels more energised. Of course, he undergoes the conventional cancer treatment as well.”

His wife, who has a Doctorate in Sanskrit with a passion for literature, joins him in conducting yoga camps. Says Warwankar, “We conduct training sessions for groups so that they can share the benefits of yoga to surrounding communities.”

The joy of bringing smiles on faces is the only reward Warwankar and Shilpa look forward to. “God has been very kind to us and given us everything that one could ask for. It is only right we thank him, over and over, by sharing our good fortune with our less fortunate brothers and sisters,” he says.

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